ECONOTES : Giving Old Notes New Currency

One man's trash is another's treasure. Best known for its deluxe stationery, Crane & Co., the Massachusetts paper manufacturer, has come up with a new line of recycled stationery made primarily from shredded U.S. currency.

Befitting the source, the paper is green and is called Old Money and includes thank-you notes, boxed stationery and pads adorned with dollar signs.

According to Timothy Crane, a sixth-generation descendant of the company's founder, Old Money was a response to a Federal Reserve Board request for inventive ways to get rid of the 15 million pounds of worn paper bills it deems unfit for circulation each year.

Crane, whose company produces paper on which the Bureau of Engraving prints U.S. currency, says, "We were very much aware" of environmental problems associated with disposing of the money.

He added that although the 100,000 pounds of shredded money used for its first stationery run is "very small compared to 15 million pounds, we hope it is a step in the direction of a larger solution." The Federal Reserve gave Crane the shredded bills gratis, and Crane paid the shipping costs.

Old Money will be in stores by mid-September. The suggested prices range from $5 for a 100-sheet note pad to $10 for a large box of stationery and envelopes.